A well-known builder in Coquitlam’s Westwood Plateau and Burke Mountain neighbourhoods plans to construct six towers at a key intersection in Port Coquitlam.
Today, Dec. 2, Wesbild announced it had applied to rezone PoCo Place — the strip mall at Lougheed Highway and Westwood Street — for a master-planned community with nearly 2,000 homes as well as retail space.
Lilian Arishenkoff, the company’s senior vice president, told the Tri-City News that Wesbild purchased the property earlier this year and has started consultations with PoCo staff, current business tenants and surrounding homeowners about the bid.
If approved by council, the plan for the 8.4-acre parcel will roll out in four phases:
- Phase 1: a rental and a condo tower at 37 and 35 storeys, respectively
- 672 homes
- it will also include new commercial space and a grocery store
- 672 homes
- Phase 2: a 45-storey market rental and non-market rental tower
- 480 homes
- plus an 8,000 sq. ft. childcare facility and additional commercial space
- 480 homes
- Phase 3: a 33-storey rental tower and a 31-storey condo tower
- 590 homes
- with additional commercial space
- 590 homes
- Phase 4: a 31-storey condo tower
- 252 homes
- with city homes at grade
- 252 homes
However, the seven-storey office building will remain intact, Arishenkoff said.
In total, the plan calls for 80,000 sq. ft. of retail, plus 3.3 acres of outdoor amenity space for residents and a 400 m wellness loop; construction is expected in 2027.
Arishenkoff told the Tri-City News that Wesbild is aware of the current traffic pinch point accessing PoCo Place, but is confident it will find solutions with city staff.
She said the feedback is positive and people are excited to see PoCo Place get a refresh.
“Our vision is to create a place with meaning and a heart,” she said, noting the site is along a public transit route, near SkyTrain and the Coquitlam River.
“Our focus has always been with community, and it’s no different here.”
Bruce Irvine, PoCo's director of development services, said the Wesbild application is the largest and most complex proposal ever before the city.
"The city and Wesbild are both working with a common goal of seeing the rezoning application to be considered by committee sometime in 2025," he told the Tri-City News today.
"Should the application be supported the city would then further its work with a target of first phase building permits being issued in late 2026 or early 2027."
In 2019, Marwest pitched a proposal to PoCo suggesting 1,000 new homes in three high-rises and townhouses. Spokesperson Stephen Bugbee also sought to add more retail and office space, as well as a public market and an underground parkade.
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